BYU PhD Student will not be deported, lawyer says

PROVO, Utah (ABC4) — BYU PhD student Suguru Onda will not be deported, according to a statement given to ABC4.com by his lawyer.

In the statement and later interview, Adam Crayk, Onda’s lawyer, confirmed with ABC4.com that they had won the court case and that Onda’s student visa has been reinstated.

“[We’re] elated, really happy,” Crayk said in an interview. Earlier today, Onda and several others had filed a lawsuit and a temporary restraining order to have their legal statuses reinstated and not be deported while the case progressed.

Around 1:30 p.m., Crayk told ABC4.com that “somebody from the government” informed BYU that Onda’s status had been reinstated.

“Look, I would love to say the reason was the lawsuit,” Crayk told ABC4.com. “Do I have that 100%? No. But I also know there were so many people that showed so much interest in this case … It just had lots of movement, and it was the right course of action.”

Onda showed excitement at the news, saying how much he loved the support that he and his family had received throughout the ordeal. Onda is married with five children.

“We so excited about it,” Onda said. “So many people reached out to our family and helped in many ways … we really liked the people here.”

Onda’s research deals in AI and technology development. Across the United States AI has been used to pull visas from other international students. When asked about how his views on AI have changed during his ordeal, Onda didn’t blame the AI.

“AI is not perfect so sometimes it makes mistakes,” Onda stated. “At that point we can fix it … If they found out, then they just need to fix it. Thats the process, it doesn’t have to be perfect.”

The lawsuit has 8 others along with Onda hoping for reinstatement of their statuses. At this point the lawsuit is still in its early stages and will take time to process. Updates will be provided as they become available.